The current standard of care (SoC) for HCV therapy is PegIFN-alpha plus RBV  a dual therapy. The addition of DAAs (currently in phase-III clinical trials) marks the next step in treatment evolution  a triple therapy. However, the new data presented today suggests that quadruple therapy could be the next generation of treatment for chronic HCV patients.

Professor Heiner Wedemeyer, EASL'S Secretary General, said: "Quadruple therapy is possibly the future of HCV treatment; this study goes a way to confirming that. While it's expected that the first DAAs and triple therapy will be approved for use later this year, quadruple therapy appears to have a more profound effect on virological response, with less of a resistance problem."

The study may also provide new hope for a growing number of HCV patients who cannot be effectively treated for chronic hepatitis with current treatments.

The Phase-IIa trial looked at a cohort of 21 HCV genotype 1 null responders (patients who have failed to respond to previous treatment), of whom 19 had an unfavourable IL28B genotype, which predisposes HCV patients to treatment failure.

Only about 30% of null responders to PegIFN-alpha/RBV treatment achieve sustained virological response (SVR) when retreated with PegIFN-alpha/RBV plus telaprevir, demonstrating a high unmet medical need.1

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